Though rare, people testing positive for breakthrough infections talk with FOX 5

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - Experts say that breakthrough COVID-19 infections are rare and largely mild, showing vaccines are doing their job at keeping people from hospitalization or death, but FOX 5 spoke with two people who have recently tested positive to share their experiences.

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Georgetown University history professor Adam Rothman says he and his wife tested positive after their 10-year-old daughter, who isn't eligible for the vaccine, came down with minor symptoms including a sore throat.

"It was frustrating, disappointing, and a little bit scary," Rothman said.

But for both Rothman and his wife, although they had symptoms, they did not get sick enough to be hospitalized and doctors called their infections mild.

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"We had fever, sore throat, chills fatigue, muscle ache. It really knocked us back for a couple days," Rothman said.

Florida performer Ricky Cona, a friend of FOX 5's Evan Lambert, said he tested positive after initially thinking he had allergies. Cona and Rothman are both fully vaccinated.

Cona's symptoms are also mild.

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"A lot of sinus pressure, you know, that very annoying one nostril is clogged," he said.

Both encourage others to get the vaccines, which they believe kept them from becoming severely ill.

"I'm absolutely happy about that and I would encourage everybody to get the vaccine," Rothman said.

D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are all reporting breakthrough infections of less than 0.1 percent.